Arup Advanced Geometry Unit

Arup Advanced Geometry Unit
Main Office:13 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 4BQ, United KingdomMap of location
Number of employees: 6
NOTE: This specialist group was closed after Cecil Balmond left Arup in late 2010.

Engineering Specialties:
Structural Engineering
Advanced Geometries

History:
The Advanced Geometry Unit(AGU) was founded in 2000 by Cecil Balmond and is currently led by Daniel Bosia. It was created to “explore new modes of working in emerging markets through the development of geometric and computer programming.”(1) It is comprised of engineers, architects, mathematicians, programmers, and artists and is very strong at form making through the use of new geometric forms and structural systems. AGU uses their own software called FABWIN(a nonlinear, form finding program).
AGU has contributed to the work of some of the most recognized architects of the time, such as Kolhaaus, Toyo Ito, and Jean Nouval. They also work with many artists, such as Anish Kapoor, on big art installations. Some of their most recent projects are the ArcelorMittal Orbit with Anish Kapoor for the 2012 Olympics and the Serpintine Pavilion Program, which invites architects who have never had a building in the UK to design a pavilion that stays up for a few months in Hyde Park. The heart of the AGU is “more about discovering a system. It’s starting from testing systems—materials systems, numeric systems, and their opportunities in architecture.”(2)